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2 reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

A Chance to Learn Some Great SongsJuly 11 2013

By
mk
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase

I grew up with great artists like Cat Stevens and Jim Croce- people that wrote deeply felt lyrics, usually within my singing range, and with great guitar backup. This book provides 17 of Cat's best known songs geared for the advanced beginner to intermediate acoustic guitarist; however, anyone can learn a song in this book if determined and taking it slowly and putting in the effort.

The first few pages list examples of the different guitar methods used in the book. Each song is written in tablature and standard notation with the lyrics. They preface each piece with small diagrams of the needed chords. Most of Cat Stevens' chords are fairly basic, e.g., Peace Train, one of my all time favorites, uses simple power chords G-C-F-Am with variations. There are several chords that demand more practice and finger contortion, but overall quite doable and fun to learn.

The pieces aren't always exact of course. One must modify to get the best sound with a single guitar. They do include some 2nd guitar arrangements and put in the solo parts, usually at the intro or end(again like in Peace Train)as they fall in the song.

I'm not accomplished so I have to slowly dredge through my favorites(Moon Shadow, The Wind, How Can I Tell You, Hard Headed Woman, etc.), but it comes fairly quickly. Just play it over and over slowly the parts that you don't get. I enjoy guitar learning DVD's where they walk you through it and show smooth finger changes- wish they had one for Cat.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Music I grew up withFeb. 18 2013

By
MARC
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase

No matter what you think of Cat Stevens personal decisions, I still love this music he created. I have been playing guitar for about 5 years and this book is helping me play some songs and riffs that I grew up with. I like these master series acoustic books.